Since its inception over four years ago, Creative Caerlaverock, commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland has embodied a fresh, grassroots approach to heritage engagement. Rather than following a ‘descended’ model—replicating the same methods across different sites—this project has embraced a deeply place-based philosophy, rooted in the unique stories, landscapes, and people of the Caerlaverock area.
One of the core challenges in engaging with heritage sites lies in the conventional narratives of history—stories often written by the victors, steeped in patriarchal perspectives, and leaving vast silences where marginalised voices should be. Creative Caerlaverock has sought to challenge this by asking provocative questions: Whose histories are we telling? What about the untold stories—the queer, the repressed, the forgotten?
This project strives to create equal opportunities for connection with one of Scotland’s most remarkable historic sites. Whether through personal stories tied to the land, collective memories from local communities, or imaginative escapism, it encourages participants to use history as both a mirror and a canvas. By blending tactile engagement, creative exploration, and open dialogue, the project has inspired participants to reimagine their relationship with heritage—not as a static past but as a living, evolving force.
Over the past year, Creative Caerlaverock, delivered in partnership with DJ McDowall of The Imaginarium, has worked with diverse groups—young people, local residents, and LGBTQ+ communities—to rediscover Caerlaverock Castle and its surrounding landscape as spaces of connection, creativity, and inclusivity. By exploring the intangible threads of identity and history, participants have uncovered new ways to see themselves in the fabric of Scotland’s past.
As we step into a new year, full of uncertainties, one question lingers: Could our reimagined engagement with history serve as a guiding light for the future?
Site & Sound
Sonic Labs & Creative Toolbox (Creative Wellbeing Network)
Site & Sound is a collaborative project that brings together the creative expertise of the Stove’s Sonic Labs collective—explorers of sound and music—and Creative Toolbox, part of the Dumfries & Galloway Creative Wellbeing Network. This youth-focused programme offers activities to young people dealing with low self-esteem, low confidence, or poor mental health by fostering creativity as a tool for growth and connection.
Over Autumn and Winter, Site & Sound guided participants through an immersive creative process, including sound foraging, free improvisation, circuitry, creative writing, and spoken word. The result? Six powerful audio tales and poems, written and performed by the young people themselves, inspired by the rich landscape and history of Caerlaverock.
These imaginative stories will soon be available via the Echoes App, geo-located across the Caerlaverock site. Visitors will be able to embark on a unique auditory journey, immersing themselves in the vivid worlds crafted by young voices and their fresh perspectives.
Our Land, Our Story
The Imaginarium & Caerlaverock Estate
Led by The Imaginarium and in partnership with the D&G Heritage Service, Our Land, Our Stories brings the rich tapestry of Caerlaverock Estate’s history to life. By working with the older farming community of the Caerlaverock Estate, the project captures stories, memories, and reflections deeply tied to the estate’s 800-year legacy. These are more than just anecdotes—they delve into profound themes like climate change, community celebrations, agricultural transformations, and the enduring bond between people and the land they cultivate. From zeppelins soaring over the estuary to Viking longships and local legends, these stories bring history to life.
In 2025, these recordings will take on new life. Through community gatherings and folk nights, The Bookshop Band, Wigtown’s renowned musical duo, will collaborate with the local community to research and reinterpret these stories, resulting in the creation of up to three original songs.
Our Land, Our Stories serves as a poignant reminder of how personal histories connect to broader narratives, ensuring that the voices of the past resonate with and inspire the future.
The Imaginarium’s Missing Museum
The traces of queer history in Scotland have long been overshadowed or confined to the struggles of the 20th century—protests, legal battles, and the fight for recognition and justice. This narrative of resistance has shaped much of LGBTQ+ history, but as we trace this thread further back into the depths of medieval history, the trail fades, becoming overgrown and obscured.
This is where The Missing Museum steps in, offering an innovative approach to heritage engagement. A Museum Without Walls, it invites you, as Community Curators, to notice what is absent in our cultural heritage stories and to redress the gaps. It’s time to bridge the omissions in our shared histories, ensuring more honest and inclusive representations of the past.
Once you don your top hat, smooth your mustache, and pull on your handling gloves, the question arises: what changes will you make to ensure the museum collections reflect a richer, more inclusive tapestry of the past?
Working with an open collective of LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies, Queer Caerlaverock provocatively explores what is missing in our histories. LGBTQ+ people have always been here—so how can we reimagine and interpret our past through their lens? This project blends the tactile, lived experiences of marginalized communities with the dominant monarchist and heteronormative narratives of history.
Coming in February and March 2025, The Missing Museum will host a series of sessions culminating in an evocative installation on the grounds of Caerlaverock. Together, we’ll reassemble the fragments of the past to create a more inclusive and imaginative story of our shared heritage.
Interested in Creative Caerlaverock?
Feel free to reach out to us or discover more by visiting our project page on our website here.
